The Best Halloween Night EVER
by Cho Koume
Summary: Something happens to the boys on all Hallow's eve! Will the guys pass up the opporunity at getting to relive Halloween... a little differently?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own rights for Ronin Warriors. Not in a boat, not with a goat, or in a leather coat… Oh, MAN would the guys look good in leather… -drools all over the keyboard- The Best Halloween Night EVER 

It was the night before Halloween, and the night was dark and slightly warm. There was nothing but silence and slight winds that night under the full moon, and that's what had encouraged Kento Rei Faun to force the others outside for a campout. Good thing it wasn't very cold, otherwise Ryo would have run back inside. Unlike the others, Kento had an unhealthy obsession with that particular holiday, and he makes sure everything is always perfect. That means costumes, treats, and setting the house up so scary that Yuli no longer joined them at the house until the night was over. As for the other guys… well… they had no choice but to endure it.

Cye didn't quite share his best friend's enthusiasm, as he was most likely the one who had to clean nearly the whole mess up, but he liked that his friend was happy. Rowen was right beside Kento, setting up decorations and playing pranks on the others. Ryo was mostly quiet during that time, as he wasn't much of a ghost person, and liked to respect the deeper meaning of the holiday. Sad for him, Rowen and Kento always tried to freak him out, talking about ghosts and ghouls. Unlike the others, though, Sage was raised in strict tradition, but Halloween was one of the only times he could ignore the rules and get down and dirty and have a blast. He loved pumpkins, too. The food, the activities, and, after all, Fall and Winter were his favorite seasons.

The group, consisting of the guys, Mia and White Blaze, weren't out too far into the woods, but it was far enough that they could no longer see the mansion. Kento said they had to go out that far, otherwise it would ruin the spooky mood. Ryo voted that they camp out directly in front of the house, but lost the vote. So, there he sat, huddled close to the fire watching as the others put some finishing touches on their jack-o-lanterns.

Kento was making wild cuts at the mouth and eyes of his not-so-scary pumpkin as Cye tried to keep his mess on the tarp they were sitting on. Sage was far more graceful with his strokes, and Mia was showing Rowen how to stick the candle in the pumpkin without it falling over and burning everything up. A cold wind blew past Ryo, and for an instant, he thought he sensed something sinister, but as soon as the wind had passed, it was gone, and the ominous aura was replaced by a chill. Ryo clung to his jacket and looked back at the others.

"Guys… it's dark, it's cold, and we've been out here a long time! Don't you think it's time we head back inside?"

As expected, Kento was the first to stand up and protest.

"What? No way! The night is still young! We can't give up and go in YET!"

"Young? Kento, it's ten to midnight! How 'young' does it have to be before we can get out of the cold?"

Cye had to nod his head in agreement. He wasn't as sensitive to the cold, but he was getting tired, and they all had to get a good night sleep before the big day. However, he still would have no word of it. Instead, when the others had finished their carvings, he called them over to the fire with Ryo. Mia sat next to him, and he blushed ever so slightly. Rowen sat next to Sage, who seemed to not care about much else but sleep, leaving only one other.

Kento stood in front of the others with his arms crossed and an impatient look being thrown towards the tidier of them who was still trying to reduce the mess and push all the pumpkin innards onto the tarp. Finally, when Kento had had enough of waiting, he stomped over and pushed the other boy over to sit by Sage. Once he was sure Cye wasn't going anywhere, he put his hands on his hips and smiled.

"If you guys are getting restless, then how about I tell you a story?"

Everyone groaned, except Ryo, who tensed and gulped a little too loudly.

"Not that yer stories are bad er anythin, Kento, but this ain' the time!" Complained Rowen.

"Yeah! Besides, Ryo was right! It's getting late, and I wont want to get up super early to cook if we stay out here much longer!"

"And now that I officially smell like pumpkin ( 3 ) I want to go in and sleep!"

Even Mia wasn't in the mood, and she rather liked Kento's stories. However, the serious look on Kento's face confused her. It wasn't a goofy grin like he usually wore; instead, it was dead serious and startling.

"Guys… I'm not talking about some stupid, fictional ghost story…"

"Wot?"

"I was looking up some costume ideas on Mia's computer the other day, and I stumbled upon this article about a little boy…"

"Yeah… Wot about the boy?"

"He was killed nearby last Halloween."

That got their attention. All eyes were open and fixed on Kento and his solemn expression.

"Apparently, some of his friends were playing a trick on him out here in the woods… but something happened. An eerie fog started to drift in, and then the bushes nearby started rattling. The boy was all by himself. He thought his friends had abandoned him, and he was scared half to death. Those other kids were having the time of their lives, watching him from not too far away, and only after they heard the most terrifying sounds did they notice the fog… and that the boy was no longer where he had been."

Ryo gulped again, reaching for Mia's hand.

"W-what happened after that, Kento…? Did the kids ever find him?"

"Yes, they did… but he wasn't alive. Something mauled him to death…"

"!! T-that's gross! Who would do that?!"

"That's what the kids wanted to know. They called out for help, but only the fog responded, by coming around them again. It surrounded the group… and in only a matter of minutes, all but one of them were gone. All the bodies had been drug off into the fog. According to the article, the remaining kid had written all of this in his journal, and the next night, overcome with guilt… he returned to the forest, and was never heard of again."

Ryo was freaking out when the bushes behind him started rustling, but the others dismissed it. Then, there was a growling noise, and that made everyone nervous. Since the others were too chicken to check it out, Kento got up from his seat and disappeared into the darkness. That's when the others talked.

"What do you think about that story, guys?"

"Nah… it's too scary to be real! I think Kento is pulling our leg!" Cye glared at Rowen, who rose his hands in defense.

"Hey, don't look at me! If it's a prank, he didn't let me in on it!"

"Guys… maybe … he's not lying!"

Everyone looked at Ryo.

"What? You believe that? Who ever heard of 'people eating fog'?"

"I don't know… but the other day, I was walking past the room with Mia's computer in it, and I saw Kento standing away from it. His chair was knocked over, and he was practically freaking out!"

All was silent.

At least… it was for a moment. Suddenly, the bushes were shaking again, and the growling noise returned, even though Kento had not. The boys called for their friend, but he did not respond. Then, suddenly, a white fog began to emerge from the bushes towards them. Cye covered his mouth to avoid yelling out, but Rowen spoke aloud what they were all thinking silently.

"I-it's the fog!"

"It's coming to kill us like those boys!!" Ryo finished. Sage, however, was acting as calm as he could. He was never one to believe in ghosts, or killer fogs at that. So, ever the rational one, he tried to calm the others down, by saying it was only part of a trick. They would have believed it, too, if not for the yell. It was loud, not far off… it was Kento. He was screaming in terror, and light tearing noises could be heard. Kento was screaming his head off, and it almost brought tears to their eyes.

"NO! Oh, God, no! Please! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

"AHH!"

"AHH!"

"AHH!"

"AHH!"

"AHH!"

In a flurry of limbs, the boys stumbled over each other in order to get away, to somewhere safer, and in a moment, all that remained in the campsite was Mia and the burning fire. She had been too afraid to evacuate, and she was still frozen stiff as the bushes began to move again.

"Rowen…? Sage? Cye? …Ryo…?"

The rustling got louder, followed by a low chuckling, and in an instant, a figure jumped out.

"AHHHHH!"

She was met with only laughing. When she stopped screaming and opened her eyes, she was greeted with a not-so-pleasant sight. Kento… rolling on the ground and laughing. At first, she was surprised, then she took a step to the side and saw a bucket of dry ice, a fan, and a tape recorder, and she was upset. She couldn't believe it! Kento pulled one of his tricks again, and now the group was scattered on a chilly night! Mia just had to stomp her foot at this.

"Kento Rei Faun! How could you?! That trick was nasty, cruel, and uncalled for!"

"Yeah… wasn't it great? "

"GRRR! No, that's not right at all! I demand an apology! You scared the living daylights out of…well, EVERYONE!"

"I KNOW…!"

Kento grinned at first, until he saw the deadly look on Mia's face. Then, he blushed lightly and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Okay, okay… sorry, Mia! I could resist! I'm sorry…!"

"Hmph. …That's a LITTLE better… but you should find the guys and apologize to them, too!"

"Yeah… alright!"

Kento walked to his space by the fire and picked up his jacket, shivering against the new cold that entered the area. He could see his breath, and then… he felt something and froze.

"Hmm? Kento? What is-"

"Shh. I feel something…"

"Kento… no jokes!"

"…No jokes…"

Kento's worried expression didn't lie. Usually, Mia could tell when he was joking, excluding the prank he just pulled, but this look was one she had seen numerous times right before a battle. For real this time, a light, eerie fog rolled in towards them, but that was just the beginning. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but purple lightning was forming just above them, and an evil laugh, followed by the strongest gust of wind the two had ever seen or felt before. Kento yelled out for Mia and tried to reach her, but he was overcome, and knocked back into the bushes as if he didn't weigh much at all. 5 flashes of lightning hit the ground nearby before everything fell silent, and again, Mia was alone, only this time, she was in the pure dark.

The wind had extinguished the fire in the pit, and Mia was trying her best to remain calm. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to retrace her steps to where she put her backpack. It had a flashlight in it. She stepped carefully around the fire pit, and almost stumbled over something small and whimpering right by where her stuff was. She made sure not to fall, and then jumped as something grabbed at her pants. She heard the whimpering again.

Reaching down, she felt a small little head and soft hair underneath her fingers. There was a small boy there. Even in the dark, she could tell he had to have black hair, otherwise she would be able to see another shade under the moonlight. And there was only one little boy she knew that had dark hair (or more, the only boy she knew at ALL), though this boy seemed to have longer hair than she remembered.

"Yuli?"

"…"

"Yuli… I didn't know you came over! What are you doing out here all on your own?"

"..M-mm-mm…"

"Huh? Hold on a sec!"

Reaching down, but still holding her hand on the boy's head, Mia took out her flashlight, and shone it down onto the boy. The first thing she recognized was that the clothes looked oddly familiar, and then the hair was longer… that's when it hit her. This wasn't Yuli.

"R-Ryo?!"

"Mia… What's going on?"

"Ryo…"

Before she could form an answer for him, there was another rustling in the bushes, and Ryo, again, clung to the older girl. Mia pulled him nearer, and shone her flashlight on the bushes.

"K-Kento?"

What, or more, who came out, wasn't Kento, but much younger versions of Sage and Rowen.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say…"

"This wa n't Kento's doing!"

"Rowen! Sage!"

"Ugh…"

Mia heard the groans and turned the flashlight the other way, to a bush. That's when she saw a dizzy , and younger Kento being helped into a sitting position by young Cye.

"What is… going on here? You're all KIDS!"


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was shining brightly the next morning

The sun was shining brightly the next morning. It was warm, sunny… but Mia couldn't enjoy that at first, as sleeping in one of the living room armchairs wasn't very comfortable. For a moment, as she tried to adjust her eyes to the bright morning light, she wondered if she had imagined the night before. However, once she could see, she discovered that it wasn't.

There, lying in a bunch on the living room floor were four cozy, tiny ronins. They were all huddled together for warmth, and were sharing the few blankets they could carry down. Cye was resting on Kento's tummy, Rowen was curled against Cye's side, lying on his front, and his legs were on Sage's lap as Kento's head took over his shoulder. It really was a cute sight! Though, what was even cuter was a tiny Ryo curled on her lap, sucking his thumb not-so-silently as he slept.

Taking in the sight, she had to sigh. Somehow, the boys had turned into kids again, and if she knew one thing, it was that kids could be a handful! If they were so rowdy as young adults, they would most certainly be a handful as children! She only hoped they were potty trained. Then, almost on cue, Rowen started stirring. Mia moved Ryo to the couch and turned to Rowen when he started pulling on her pant leg.

"Mia…?"

"Yes, Rowen?"

"I need go bathroom…"

"Okay…"

Little Rowen held out his hand and Mia held out hers, but Rowen could only hold onto two of her fingers since his hands were so small. Slowly, Mia led the boy to the bathroom and stopped at the door, fearing the question she now had to ask.

"U-um… Rowen? Do you… need any help?"

"Mm-mm."

She was relieved. Rowen smiled at her and left to go into the bathroom. Not knowing what else to do, Mia waited right outside, thinking. She didn't get too far into her thoughts, though, as she heard a thunk on the floor and wailing. Fearing the worse, she dashed back to the living room to find Cye patting Ryo's back. The others were awake, also, but seemed less concerned with the crying boy. Kento was lying on his back again, moving his arms and legs, mumbling about food, and Sage was trying to sit cross-legged. It was funny… his legs just weren't bending the right way, and so he kept falling over.

Resisting the urge to chuckle at Sage, Mia knelt down and moved the crying Ryo onto her lap. When she started petting his head and that soft mop of hair, the boy almost instantly calmed. The room was quiet for a moment, and she tried to find the right words to ask the group.

"…Boys?"

All except Ryo looked up at her.

"Do you… know who I am?"

Sage nodded and answered first.

"Mia Koji. Age 19."

"Right. Thank goodness you haven't forgotten me!"

"Yeah. The problem is… I'm supposed to be Sage Date, age 18… not age 7!"

"I 'gree! Somethin is up!"

Mia nodded. The boys were well aware, also, that things were not as they should be.

"So… what do you think happened?"

"Well… This has got to be a spell! I heard some odd chanting before I woke up little, but I didn't recognize the voice!"

"Me, neither! I hope we wont remain like this FOREVER, though! A spell like this should be temporary!"

"We can only hope, Cye…"

Then, the flushing of the toilet could be heard, and Rowen stepped back into the living room, smiling as if he just ate the last cookie in the cookie jar and didn't share it. He patted his tummy and grinned.

"All better!"

Everyone went silent for a minute.

"Well, it seems as though Rowen is adjusting…"

"Yeah…"

"Mm? What?"

"What do you mean, what?"

"What?"

"Huh?"

"What, 'huh'?"

Ten minutes passed before the boys got tired of asking those questions. There was no point to what they were talking about, but it was something only little kids could get away with. 3 when the pointless conversation was over, the boys were left a bit tired. So cute… When Mia came back into the living room, Sage looked like he was meditating, Rowen was picking his nose, Cye was looking at a book, trying to read it, Ryo was sucking his thumb, and Kento was lying on his back, groaning.

"Food… so hungy… hungy, hungy, hungy!"

His stomach growled, and quite comically, the others' followed. Mia had to contain her laughing as she walked in with good news.

"I thought you would be hungry… so I made breakfast for you!"

At the sounds of food, Kento rolled off his back and ran as best he could with young, tired legs, into the dining room. Rowen followed him just as quickly, but Sage got up slowly and politely. However, Cye threw Mia a somewhat sad look and puffed up his face in a pout.

"You cook'd without me?"

"Awww… don't worry, Cye! I'll let you help me cook lunch, okay?"

Cye thought about it for a minute, and then nodded his head smiling as he followed the trail to the kitchen. That's when Mia's glance settled on Ryo in contemplation. Ryo was staring off into space, still with his thumb in his mouth. Ever since the night before, Ryo hadn't been nearly as talkative as the others, which showed a difference in how he lived as a kid compared to the rest.

Ryo had only told Mia a little about his youth, and it seemed to be a somewhat lonely one. His father was mostly away on trips, and poor Ryo was often left all on his own. Only White Blaze was his companion, which explained why the little Ryo didn't speak much. Mia smiled softly down at the boy and knelt beside him. He turned towards her, his big, bright tiger blue eyes stared at her sweetly. She could not hold back a smile. There he was, the young man she had fallen for, stuck in another space of time. He was such a cute kid, though. Noticing the voices of the others in the next room, and the growling of his own stomach, he took his fingers out of his mouth and lifted his arms up. Boy, did he like to be picked up! 3 Mia complied and they left for the dining room.

--

Even as a child, Kento was a force to be reckoned with when it came to eating. He had finished his serving and was asking for more the instant Mia came into the room with Ryo. She smiled and set the other boy down in his chair before fetching another plateful for Kento. Upon her return, most of the other boys had also finished, and a conversation was going on.

"What if this is not just a temporary deal? We could be forced to grow up all over again!"

"What? NOOOO! Then Mia will be way OLD by the time I'm old enough to go out!"

"Will you stop thinking about that for one minute? How could your hormones be so active at this age?"

"Shut up, Sagey-poo!"

"!! W-what did you just call me?!"

"You heard me!"

"I dare you to say it again!"

"Sagey-poo! Sagey-poo!"

"GRRRR!"

"Hey, now!" Cye chimed in. "We don't have time to fight! We have ta find a solutions! Now, I still stan by my theery that this is only temprary! We just have ta wait it out!"

Nobody else said anything. It was true, since they had no leads to go on, they could only hope it would wear off. Sage sighed and finished.

"No Halloween, then."

That's when Kento nearly choked on his food. He stood up on his chair, outraged.

"That's unacceptable! There is no way I'm missing out on my favorite holiday!"

"Neither am I!" Agreed Rowen.

"I'm sorry, you two…" Ryo sympathized, "But we don't seem to have any other choice! I mean, we can't go out like this!"

"No, no, no! You don't get it! This is PERFECT!"

"Wot do you mean, Kento?"

"Easy! We'd normally never get the chance to go back and experience Halloween as kids, but now we can! And do you know what that means?"

"MORE CANDY!!" 3 3

Sometimes, Rowen could have a one-track mind. Though Kento had a good idea, Ryo had to bring up the costume problem. There was no way the costumes they made would fit them, and so they had nothing to wear, and it was already Halloween. That's when Mia spoke up.

"I'll take you to the mall for new costumes, then!"

That brought the spirits up past the roof. After breakfast, they would get their just deserts: a second chance at something grand!


End file.
